Apparatus for treating leg defects.



No. 683,738; Patented Oct. 1,1901. w. EMGE.

APPARATUS. For: TREATING LEG DEFECTS.

(Application filed Dec. 5, 1900.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VENDELIN EMGE, OF HOHENTENGEN, GERMANY.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING LEG DEFECTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,738, d t d October 1, 1901.

Application filed December 5, 1900. Serial No. 38,793. (No model.)

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Be it known that I, IVENDELIN EMGE,a sn 1)- ject of the King of Wiirtemberg, residing at Hohentengen, in the Kingdom of Wiirtemberg, in the German Empire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Apparatus for Treating Leg Defects, (for which I have applied for patents in Germany, dated October 16, 1900; in Austria, dated October 18, 1900; in Hungary, dated October 30, 1900; in France, dated October 19, 1900; in Belgium, dated October 18, 1900; in England, dated October 22, 1900, and in Switzerland, dated October 18, 1900,) of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an. apparatus for the medical treatment of defects in the legs, and especially of broken bones, and which enables the proper position to be given to the injured member to treat locally the defects of the limbs without altering their position, and thus insuring absolute rest for the injured limb; but it is mainly designed to prevent the bending or deflection of injured bones to one side or the other, which so he quently happens in the case of broken bones, so'that the injured limb is prevented from becoming shortened or deformed by reason of such bending.

The apparatus is shown in the accom panying drawings, in which- Figure 1 illustrates the use of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 3 is a View in side elevation of the apparatus, showing the front portion turned down. Fig. 4 is a plan of the apparatus, showing the movable parts opened out.

Throughout the views similar parts are marked with like numerals of reference.

-The apparatus consists chiefly of a baseboard 1, two wedge-shaped tapering sides 2 and 3, which are partly or wholly movable,

and of a front wall 4, which is arranged vertically at the narrow end of the base-board 1. The base-board 1 is provided at its wider end with holes 5 and is divided-say in the middle-in such a manner that the front part can be turned down by means of hinges 6,as shown in Fig. 3. This part is provided with a troughshaped cavity 7, Fig. 4. The side wall 2 is capable of pivoting in a horizontal plane on together.

a hinge 8, fixed to the head-Wall 4, and by means of the holes 5 and of the pin 9, which can be adjusted up and down in a sleeve 10, which is fixed to the high end of the side 2, it can assume any desired position of inclination to the middle line of the bottom 1, as indicated in dash-and-dot lines in Fig. 4. The side 3 consists of a part 13, which remains, with the front wall 4, in its vertical position and which is capable of being turned down into the horizontal position by means of hinges 11 and 12. In order that the part 13 shall be able to be held free in the vertical position, it carries a bar 14, through the cranked portions of which there is inserted a double bolt 15. On the fixed part of the side wall there is fixed a similar bar, so that by pushing the double bolt 15 toward the left hand, Fig. 2, both parts of the wall are rigidly connected Each of these parts has on its free upper edge a fillet 16, which serves to guide a double-armed jib 18, which is capable of being fixed in position by means of a setscrew 17. their free ends, and they carry guide-rollers 19 and 20, over which passes a cord loaded with a weight 21. The weight 21 maybe made either heavier or lighter in the Well-known way, as desired, so that a loop 22, placed around the injured leg, will be pulled upward with a greater or less force. Both side walls are provided at certain distances apart with knobs 23, which serve to fix bandages 24 or other means of attachment. The front 4 is slotted vertically in the middle, so as to allow of a horizontally-mounted pulley 25 to be adjusted up and down therein. For this purpose there are provided right and left of the slot horizontal recesses 26, which serve to support the axle of the said pulley. Over the pulley 25 there is arranged a cord, which is provided with a loop 27, Fig. 1,and which is weighted by a weight 28.

The apparatus is used as follows: In all cases, whether a breakage of theleg or of the thigh or an injury to the knee-cap has to be attended to, the apparatus is fixed, as shown in Fig. 1, in an inclined position, with its narrow end over the end of the bed of the patient,and is fixed, by means of the screw-clamp 29, on the base-board in such a manner that in order to enable the weight 28 to hang down Its horizontal arms are forked at freely a part projects over the end of the foot of the bedstead or the like, and thus prevents the whole apparatus from shifting. The injured leg of the patient is placed in the apparatus and is fixed, by means of bandages or hands 24. or the like, in a suitable position. Now in order to prevent the bending (which frequently occurs during the healing process) of the broken parts and their relative movement and consequent shortening of the limbs and the shifting of the ends of the bones relatively to each other the leg is subjected, by means of the loop 27 and Weight 28, to a pull of any desired variable force during the healing process. At the same time the loop 22 is placed around the broken parts, and by means of the weight 21 any desired pull can be exerted on the leg in a vertical direction upwardly, while the limb is held fast in its position by means of the attachments 24. In consequence of the adjustability of the pulley 25 in the front 4 a pull can be exerted which will coincide exactly with the axis of the leg or which will have the tendency to straighten the leg. During the treatment of a leg the cavity 7 receives the heel of the foot, so that the leg can lie throughout with its under or rear surface in all parts on the baseboard 1. If now any manipulation or treatment of the injured limb-such as massage, washing, operations, or the like-is necessary, then by turning down one of the movable parts the Whole leg or only some portions of it can be exposed. Thus, for example, by turning the Wall 2 to one side after lifting out the pin 9 the wholeleg is exposed on one side, and by undoing the bolt-fastening 14 15 and turning down the wall 13 the thigh can be exposed, while by turning down the front part of the apparatus the leg can be placed at right angles to the thigh, Fig. 3, &c. The several parts can be removed separately or together, according to requirement, and the apparatus enables the most varied requirements of an efficient treatment to be complied with successfully. Of course the separability or the turning down of the several walls in various directions could be increased and extension-pieces could be arranged, 850., without departing from the essence of the invention. The construction shown in the drawings is merely to serve as an examplcrof a form of construction in order to set forth the nature of the invention.

\Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A surgical appliance, comprising a support for receiving the leg to be treated, astandard adjustable longitudinally of the supported leg, 3. device supported from the standard for connection with the leg, and means for exerting an upward pull on said device. 2. A surgical appliance, comprising a support for receiving the leg to be treated, said support including a bottom member and side members, one of said side members being hinged at its one end and rigid and continuous longitudinally, and the other side and the bottom being formed of hinged sections, and means at the opposite end of the continuous side member for laterally adjusting said member, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

WENDELIN EMGE.

WVitnesses:

JACOB GOLDSCHMIDT, H. O'r'ro REUGER. 

